SPRINTER SHUTDOWN COSTS TAKE BIG JUMP

Bill could top $3M, but replacement bus service may be cheaper than operating rail

Costs related to the Sprinter train shutdown have increased sharply in recent weeks and could soon top $3 million, according to a review of purchases approved by the North County Transit District.

It’s still unclear, though, whether replacement bus service will cost more than what the agency would have spent on Sprinter operations.

That’s because the district may not have to pay the maximum amount approved for its bus contracts, depending on when the light-rail network resumes service after its March 9 stoppage. The agency also hasn’t specified the time frame for its main bus contract, so a monthly budget comparison with Sprinter expenses isn’t possible.

The largest single request for bus spending — up to $1.8 million for replacement bus service from the company First Transit — was approved without discussion Thursday by the agency’s board of directors in Oceanside.

The bill adds to a contract capped at $664,780 that board members greenlighted in March for charter bus service provided by U.S. Coachways ending April 11, plus the $656,571 for Sprinter replacement parts authorized by the board over the past two months.

The maximum value of those contracts is $3.15 million. That doesn’t account for marketing, communications, specialized staffing and other expenditures tied to the shutdown.

In its annual budget, the transit district had said overall Sprinter operations cost $1.2 million a month. The 12-train system runs between Oceanside and Escondido.

Initially after the Sprinter was idled, the agency’s finance chief said replacement bus service could cost less than running the trains. At the time, he also said the district had only completed its contract with U.S. Coachways and would have additional expenses, including the contract with First Transit.

Deborah Castillo, a spokeswoman for the agency, said the district is “aggressively” working to recoup all expenses related to the shutdown from the train’s maintenance contractors.

She said the agency had “no comment” on how much it has spent during the Sprinter shutdown, on what it is doing to contain those costs and whether it expects significant additional expenses.

The agency has yet to say what caused rapid wear on the brake rotors, which prompted the shutdown.

No relaunch date was provided Thursday during the agency’s update of efforts to restore service.

Tom Tulley, the agency’s safety chief, said the district must complete several changes to its safety and maintenance plans and receive inspection approvals from state and federal regulators before the trains can return to service.

Officials said in late April that Sprinter trains could be back “within weeks,” noting that early test runs on trains with newly installed brake parts have been successful. They originally said the repair process would take between two and four months.

Also on Thursday, Matt Tucker, the transit agency’s executive director, said the district will create an employee “whistle-blower hotline” to report safety concerns. He said information about the brake wear “got caught in a bottleneck and did not work its way up to us.”